Water softening device



July 13, 1937.

E. J. cuLLlGAN I 2,086,607

WATER S OFTENING DEVICE Filed July 3, 1956 -Patented July 13, 1937UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WATER SOFTENING DEVICE Application July 3,1936, Serial No. 88,782

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a simple and efficient device employingbase-exchanging material such as zeolite granules together withrelatively simple but highly efficient means for regenerating the watersoftening power of these granules when desired.

Among the primary objects of the invention, and aside from the softeningof the water itself,

the present inventor has provided simple and efcient means forproducing, without loss of time and during the normal operation of thebed of zeolite granules, a solution of a suitable salt such as sodiumchloride, which will serve to regenerate the granules when necessary.For this purpose the inventor provides an upper compartment in the watersoftener in which, upon a suitably raised portion, there is placed aforaminous container such as a bucket or the like, into which salt isplaced, the bucket then vbeing set into the compartment, the lattercontaining water suiiicient to equal substantially the depth of thecontainer, whereby the salt will slowly and automatically dissolve,forming a strong or saturated salt solution which will thus immediatelybe available whenever necessary forregenerating 4the granules in thecompartment immediately below.

In the ordinary water softeners as hitherto v used, it was necessary toshut off the operation of the softener and then to prepare the saltsoluo'tion, or else to place the salt directly into contact with thegranules, all of which consumed a considerable amount of time, so thatthe water softener would be out of operation for a considerable period.By the present invention, however, the time for regeneration is out downvery materially, and the operation is made so simple that the softenermay be serviced by entirely inexperienced persons, with the minimumamount Y of labor, turning of Valves, and the like,

In the hereunto appended drawing, two different means are shown forcarrying out the present invention, both of the figures being verticalcross sections of suitable apparatus. It is to be understood at thispoint that these illustrations are purely diagrammatic and that theexact proportions thereon shown and the exact methods of making theconnections are of coursepurely a matter of choice, and that theillustrations are to serve merely as exemplications of the fundamentalprinciples underlying the invention and are not to be taken literally asworking drawings or as limitations of the invention.

As will be seen from the two figures, the difference between which isVery slight and relates only to the means for transferring liquid fromone compartment to the other, the water softener consists of a housing Iwhich is divided by a horizontal partition 2 into an upper and a lowercompartment 3 and 4,Irespectively. This partition 2 is preferablyprovided with an upstanding flange or other raised portion 5 whichserves to support a foraminous container or bucket 6. In the lowercompartment 4 there is a bed of zeolite granules or like base-exchangingmaterial l. A suitable cover 8 is provided for the upper compartment soas to close off the water softener against the ingress of dirt and dust.Near the bottom of the lower compartment and embedded in the zeolitegranules 'I there is a perforated pipe 9. This pipe is connected bymeans of a nipple I0 and a T II with a drain cock I2. Into the same T Ilthere is also screwed a waterconducting pipe I3 which is provided with avalve I4, at the other side of which there is a short nipple I5 which isscrewed into the T I6, which bears a branch line II, marked on thedrawing Inlet, which serves for the introduction of the water that is tobe softened. On the other side of the T I6 and connected by anothernipple I8 there is a valve I9 which, by means of a second nipple 20, is'connected to a further T 2|, the branch of which is connected through asuitable nipple with a pipe 22 that extends into the empty upper sectionof the lower compartment 4. On the upper side of the T 2l, connected bya nipple 23, there is a valve 24 which in turn is connected with a pipe25 marked Outlet, which serves to conduct the softened Water to whateverpoint it is intended to use it.

In order to enable the establishment of a connection between the uppercompartment 3 and lower compartment 4, two different means are shown. InFig. 1 this is accomplished by means of a Siphon which has two branches26 and 2'I and a valve 28, which latter is in the extreme upper portionof the upper compartment 3, just below the cover 8, so as to be abovethe level of any liquid which may be in this compartment. Thecompartment is shown in the drawing as containing water 29, and in theforaminous bucket `6 there is shown a mass of salt 3U. A suitable bail3l for the convenient handling of the bucket is illustrated in dottedlines because, as shown in the drawing, this bail is assumed to be onthe far side of the bucket. It will be noted that the bucket is providedon the sides as well as on the bottom with holes or openings 32. In Fig.2 the connection between the upper compartment 3 and the lowercompartment 4 is secured by means of pipes 26 and 21', which areconnected with each other through the intermediation of the valve 28.The function of the siphons 26, 2l, 26 and 2l is identical, theessential difference being that in the modification shown in Fig. 2 thevalve 28 is on the outside of the apparatus instead of on the inside, asit is in Fig. 1.

The operation of the apparatus as above described, and referringparticularly to Fig. l for the present, is as follows: n

When the zeolite granules are new and hence still have theirbase-exchanging properties, water which is to be softened is fed intothe apparatus through the inlet Il. At that time, valves I9 and 2d willbe tightly closed and valve Ill will be wide open. Valve 28 in the uppercompartment will also be open. The drain cock I2 ,will be closed. Waterwill therefore flow downwardly from the T I6 through the valve I4 andthe pipe I3 into the T II and thence to the left and into the perforatedpipe 9, being discharged through the perforations into the bed ofzeolite granules l. The water will rise through these granules and willgradually ll the compartment d at that part which is above the level ofthe zeolite granules. After the water has completely filled the lowercompartment t, both between the interstices of the granules I and theempty space thereabove, it will be forced through the pipe 2l and the'open valve 28 into the pipe 26 and will hence be discharged into theupper compartment until a point is reached where the upper compartmentis about seVen-eighths full. At that time valve 28 is immediatelyclosed, so that the water can no longer ilow into the upper compartment.Thereafter, valve 2t is opened, thus allowing the water to dischargethrough the pipe 25 and be directed to wherever the water is intended tobe used. As in ordinary use the pipe 25 will lead to the householdsupply which is provided with the usual faucets, a ow of water throughthe apparatus will thus be effected only when the faucets are open forthe withdrawal of water for use. This water, by virtue of having passedthrough the zeolite granules, will be suitably deprived of the hardeningconstituents, such as the calcium and magnesium salts therein contained.Y

This normal operation is continued as long as desired and need beinterrupted only when the zeolite granules havelost their baseexchanging properties. During this normal operation, however, the userof this device will place a suitable quantity of salt in the portableforaminous container or bucket 6 and, after lifting the lid 8, willplace this container upon the raised portion 5, then replacing the lid.The bucket 6 is suitably made of such a size that it will contain justthe right amount of salt to regenerate the amountl of zeolite granulesin the lower compartment. The salt will thus automatically and graduallydissolve until it forms av strong salt solution in the uppercompartment. Inasmuch as the time required for the solution of the saltis only a very small fraction of the length of time that is required forthe exhaustion of the zeolite granules, it will be seen that there willthus be produced in compartment 3 a solution of regenerating salt, readyfor use when required.

When it is found that the water issuing from the faucets is no longer ofsuiiicient softness, which indicates that the granules 'I requireregeneration, this is accomplished as follows: Valves 2l and I4 areclosed and drain cock I2 is opened. Under the iniluence of gravity,water will then runout through the pipe 9 and the drain cock I2.Inasmuch as the apparatus is otherwise hermetically closed, this willtend to produce .a lower pressure or partial vacuum in the lowercompartment t, which will soon diminish the amount of Water which flowsthrough theA drain cock I2 and thus cause a suction on the line 2l. Bythen opening the valve 28, it will be evident that this suction willdraw water up through the pipe 26, through the valve 28 and the line 2l,so that a siphoning action will take place, which will siphon the saltsolution from the upper compartment 3 into the lower compartment II,wherebythe salt solution will flow into the interstices of the zeolitegranules, thus surrounding them with salt, which, as is well known,drives the magnesium and calcium salts out of thev granules, replacingthese elements by the element sodium, thereby regenerating the granules.The operator will keep the valve I2- open'until he, or she, hears ahissing noise, which indicates that all of the salt solution has beendrawn onto the granules and that compartment 3 is then empty. Thereuponthe valve I2 is closed immediately. The Valve 28 is then also closed andthe salt solution is allowed to remain on the granules as long asdesired, which usually is only from twenty minutes to a half hour.Thereupon the valve l2 is opened to allow the salt solution to run outof the lower compartment, and the valve I9 is also opened, whereby waterfrom the source of supply and through the pipe' Il, T I6 and nipple I8will flow through the valve I9, nipple 29 and T ZI into the pipe 22,thus getting into the upper part of the compartment. The water will thuspass downwardly through the granules 'I and out through the pipe 9 anddrain cock I2, washing the salt solution out of the granules. After afew minutes washing, the drain cock I2 is closed, the valve I9 isclosed, and the valve Id is opened. This therefore reestablishes thenormal flow into the lower compartment through the pipe I3 andperforated pipe 9, so that the water rises upwardly, as it didoriginally, through the granules and again comf pletely lls compartment9. As the valve 29 is still closed, this water iinds no means of escapeuntil the operator opens valve 28, which again allowsv fresh water toenter the upper compartment 3 to ll the same to the desired level,whereupon the valve 28 is closed and the valve 29 is opened, thusestablishing the initial operating conditions. Thereupon another bucketof salt is placed into the upper compartment and the lid 8 replaced, sothat the device is again in the condition it was when the presentdescription of the operation was begun.

Referring for the moment to Fig. 2, the operation of this isself-evident, as it is actually the same except that the valve 28' is onthe outside of the apparatus instead of on the inside. Also, it will notbe necessary to depend upon the partial vacuum in the lower chamber, asthe mere opening of the valve 28 will immediately start the saltsolution running into the lower compartment. It is however preferable todepend somewhat upon the suction, as the noise made by the suctionthrough the pipe 21 when the upper compartment 3 is empty gives theoperator immediate indication as to when to close the drain cock I2.

It will be seen from the above description of the apparatus and itsoperation that there is' here provided an extremely eicient and simplemeans for regenerating zeolite granules. There are no complicated valvesystems to be operated,

y so

and there is no danger of running salt water into the pipe line leadingto the household faucets, as is sometimes the case with the morecomplicated and involved regenerating systems used in this art.Furthermore, the entire device, particularly as shown in Fig. 1, can bemade of a small and neat appearance, which greatly enhances itsdesirability when located in the basements of homes that are providedwith gas or oil burners and are used as playrooms, billiard rooms andthe like, in which\ an unsightly water regenerating device would beobjectionable from an esthetic point of view. It may be mentioned thatthe upper compartment, at least, of this type of water softener ispreferably made of enameled or glass lined steel material, as this willeffectively resist the corrosive action of the salt; in fact, the entireapparatus can be made of enameled ware. thus presenting a neat and cleanappearance and being resistant to,corrosion and rust. The perforatedbucket 6 is also preferably made of enameled ware. 'I'he exact shapeof'thls bucket is, of course, afmatter of indifference and it may not benecessary in all cases to supply the raised portion in the partition 2,as obviously this partition could be flat, and lugs could be providedupon the container or bucket 6 so as to keep the bottom thereof free ofthe partition.

y Reserving for himself such modifications as lie within the skill ofthe art, what the inventor yclaims is:

pail supported by said partition, and means for establishingcommunication between the upper and lower compartment to permit ofliquid flow therebetween.

2. A water-softening apparatus comprising the combination of a verticalcylindrical housing, a horizontal partition therein dividing the sameinto an upperand lower compartment, means on said 'partltionextendinginto the upper compartment for supporting a pail thereon, a separate andfreely removable foraminous pail supported on said means, a bed ofbase-exchange granules in the lower compartment and a valved siphon pipecommunicating between the upper and lower compartments whereby saltwater formed in the upper compartment may be siphoned onto the granulesin the lower compartment.

3.1. water-softening apparatus comprising the combination of asubstantially cylindrical elongated vertical housing, a horizontalpartition therein near the upper part thereof vdividing the housing intoan upper and lower compartment, a bed of zeolite granules partly fillingthe lower compartment, a perforated pipe extending into the zeolite bedthrough the wall ofthe housing near the lower part of the lowercompartment, an upwardly extending flange forming a part of thehorizontal partition and extending a short distance into the uppercompartment to form means for supporting a pail thereon, a freelyremovable perforated pail normally supported on said flange and intendedfor containing a regenerating salt, whereby when water is placed intothe upper compartment and said pail is set thereina salt solution willautomatically be formed, and a valved siphon pipe having one legextending downwardly into the upper compartment almost to the bottomthereof and a second leg extending through the horizontal partition, avalve above the water level in the upper partition, and means forcausing water to flow in and out of the upper and lower compartments.

EMME'II J. CULLIGAN.

